"All the
Charms Which Language and Imagination Can Exhibit"
The Adams Family
as a Classical American Dynasty:
An Examination
of the Lives of
John, John
Quincy and Abigail Adams
In the Context
of
Classical American
Society
INTRODUCTION
The lives and careers of John Adams
and his son, John Quincy, speak to the enormous influence of the classics
in the early days of the American republic. The Adams family—especially
Presidents John and John Quincy and First Lady Abigail—represents not only
an American dynasty, but a classical legacy as well. The male members of
the Adams family during this time period were products of classically influenced
education, and the classics permeate their diaries, autobiographies and
essays, facts which provide evidence for the strength of antiquity’s influence
in early America. Abigail Adams, though not formally educated, was also
influenced by classical American society. Her views on the classics in
relation to equality between the sexes provide an interesting account from
a group that was seldom vocal, as she voiced her belief that classical
education was fast becoming detrimental to the female sex. Through careful
analysis of John Adams and his son John Quincy, especially their classical
education, personal papers, orations in the Boston Massacre and Amistad
trials, respectively, and essays, we see the enormous influence of antiquity
in early American society exemplified. The classical tradition in American
history extends beyond Presidents and politicians, however, as we see in
the thoughts and words of Abigail, who takes a different approach to antiquity.
The Adams family is truly a classical American dynasty, as their devotion
to the classics indicates.
